We (the Mahs) left our birth country, Liberia, for the Ivory Coast to seek refuge from the civil war.

We lived in the Ivory Coast from December 3, 1996 to November 12, 2002. Our departure from the Ivory Coast was due to the outbreak of another rebel war in the at country. we escaped to Guinea for refuge.

Our stay in Guinea lasted a year and we moved to the US for resettlement or family reunion through the UN and Lutheran Social Services.

Our decision to cook is based on our belief that food can help to bridge the gap between people. When people begin to have nice tastes of hour meal, friendship follows . Then, whatever ill feeling they may have had are reduced.

Therefore, we pray and hope our preparations will add to existing food in the Grand Forks community.

We are pleased to extend our thanks and appreciation to be able to contribute to the community.

Fifi was born and raised in Malaysia, a multi-ethnic country in South East Asia where food always comes with a pack of flavors.

Fifi left Malaysia in 2009 and continued her studies in Korea before moving to the United States. And while she continued to travel to and live in other countries, what she couldn’t leave behind was her food.

Having no Malaysian restaurant in Grand Forks, she started to cook and share her food with friends at the same time share her culture and the story behind it. Full with flavor and spices. Fifi’s recipes are passed down to her from her grandma.

Having tons of complements on her food, Fifi tried out to be on Season 8 of “Masterchef”. She made it to the top 80 contestants from 150,000 applications and was flown by the “Masterchef” team to LA and had a “mini-Masterchef” competition.

Although she did not make the finals, it was an experience that made her realize that Malaysian Food is something that she had to share with everyone in Grand Forks.

She is a favorite flavor in the truck and her loyal followers are complemented by new fans with every event.

Telling our story is important.

COME & EAT!

Part of what we’re doing with New Flavors is attempting to capture the story behind starting up a food truck business meant to support New American entrepreneurs.

Founded in a dual appreciation of journalism and the visual arts, a documentary called: Come & Eat: The Making of New Flavors hopes to bring the ups and downs of this journey to life.

New Flavors has partnered with a promising new videographer and visual artist, Anthony Kerzman. This team will spend the first year of the standing up the food truck-for hire business (starting with the fitting up of the food truck) collecting video footage of the crucial decisions, and more often than not the boring process details of board meetings, policy discussions and meetings about trailers, truck storage and winterization efforts.

We intend to tell several stories, really.

There’s a story about the Knight Cities Challenge and how it creates opportunities for Knight Foundation’s 26 cities across the nation. This is an amazing story filled with hundreds of ‘heroes’ who champion their community through innovative ideas and ultimately bring better engagement, a more informed citizenry and a more robust public life to the cities they love.

There’s a story about the team that is building the truck, building a new business and building into the fabric of Grand Forks, ND an awareness and appreciation of the richness of inclusion, of embracing new cultures and of the life-changing experience of getting new friends. It is a rag-tag team with diverse backgrounds and talents, all of which layering to form a competent and passionate approach to positively affecting the community.

Frankly, some of this was/is a lot harder than I thought. It is time and heart-consuming. It requires learning new skills and knowledge about things like mobile kitchen equipment, contracting with individuals and organizations, trouble shooting, and managing expectations of the public, team members, and yourself. It is about putting yourself into discomfort and proving you can get out. It is about learning more about yourself than anything else, and about those around you, especially your family and the unbelievable support/patience/wisdom/patience (yes, twice) of a spouse. I hope this story is told.

There’s a story about starting a business, about entrepreneurism and social innovation. We talk a lot about the importance of small business and, these days, about a supportive ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’. But it’s a lot more real when you’re the one actually drafting the founding documents and policies, developing and watching and adjusting the day-to-day budget, learning about “cost of goods sold”, “operational overhead” and other terms necessary to keeping the doors open.

There’s the most important story of the renters. Who are the new friends who are sharing their talents, their cultures and their food with their neighbors? These people who have traversed a good part of the globe to call Grand Forks home. Where did they come from and how was their path started? Who are the family, some with them and some remaining elsewhere, for whom they worked so hard and endured so much? What are their unique passions that inspire them and shape their drive and dreams? And how are these remarkable people doing so far?

And there’s a story of impact. How is this project affecting life as we know it? What is the impact to the people of Grand Forks, the collective culture of the community and to others in cities around the country? What can be learned and what can be shared? How can the next journey be easier or more successful? Can economic opportunities be realized through small, managed steps? Do the hearts and minds of community members open and warm with personal interaction and with subtle new experiences?

We don’t know. We’re waiting for these stories to take shape and eager to watch them unfold.

We’re very confident in Tony and his ability to bring these stories to us. He’s obviously got a lot of talent, works hard and is a committed professional. This project will demonstrate all of this and his bright future. For now, there’s a teaser to the documentary. It points us in a direction – a good one, I think – and invites us into the world of a food truck, of hopeful promise and of new friends.

Meet Tony:

In the end, we have the highest of hopes this story of New Flavors will not only inspire others to engage in community building and in tactical urbanism but will prove great ideas come true with great teams, great effort and great determination. Or, the documentary will showcase a ‘just missed’ scenario and the value will be in other lessons learned.

“I came to the United States in 2010 as a student at MSUM in
Moorhead, MN. Then I moved to Kentucky to continue my school and help my uncle to start a Nepali Indian restaurant.

Since my childhood, I have had a passion for cooking and this passion grew as I grew. My journey begins from there as a cook and as a manager. Since then I got chance to work with several chefs and learn several style of Nepali, north Indian, south Indian, and Indochinese cooking.

After I finished my study, there was a big chance in life. I joined the US Army as a engineer and got deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan for a year.

It was a tough time for me and my family. During this time, however, I made lots of friends and managed my cooking too. I love cooking and playing around with food.
After I got back from deployment, my wife Ashmita and I decided to start our own restaurant and serve authentic Nepali Indian food to our Fargo/ Moorhead community.

Big thanks to my dearest friend Mr. Padam Gurung who is also my head chef and my business partner to get my restaurant, Himalayan Yak, started and ongoing right now.

We don’t just serve food, we share our experiences and our culture with our customers. We believe in caring, not just serving. It’s been three months we are in business and we have great reviews and great customer service that motivate us to do much better on up coming days.

We would like to thank new flavors to give us an opportunity to come down here at Grand Forks and serve the Grand Forks community with our food.

Telling our story is important.

Part of what we’re doing with New Flavors is attempting to capture the story behind starting up a food truck business meant to support New American entrepreneurs.

Founded in a dual appreciation of journalism and the visual arts, a documentary on The Making of New Flavors(actual title to be determined by Tony) hopes to bring the ups and downs of this journey to life.

New Flavors has partnered with a promising new videographer and visual artist, Anthony Kerzman. This team will spend the first year of the standing up the food truck-for hire business (starting with the fitting up of the food truck) collecting video footage of the crucial decisions, and more often than not the boring process details of board meetings, policy discussions and meetings about trailers, truck storage and winterization efforts.

We intend to tell several stories, really.

There’s a story about the Knight Cities Challenge and how it creates opportunities for Knight’s 26 cities across the nation. This is an amazing story filled with hundreds of ‘heroes’ who champion their community through innovative ideas and ultimately bring better engagement, a more informed citizenry and a more robust public life to the cities they love.

There’s a story about the team that is building the truck, building a new business and building into the fabric of Grand Forks, ND an awareness and appreciation of the richness of inclusion, of embracing new cultures and of the life-changing experience of getting new friends. It is a rag-tag team with diverse backgrounds and talents, all of which layering to form a competent and passionate approach to positively affecting the community. Frankly, some of this was/is a lot harder than I thought. It is time and heart-consuming. It requires learning new skills and knowledge about things like mobile kitchen equipment, contracting with individuals and organizations, trouble shooting, and managing expectations of the public, team members, and yourself. It is about putting yourself into discomfort and proving you can get out. It is about learning more about yourself than anything else, and about those around you, especially your family and the unbelievable support/patience/wisdom/patience (yes, twice) of a spouse. I hope this story is told.

There’s a story about starting a business, about entrepreneurism and social innovation. We talk a lot about the importance of small business and, these days, about a supportive ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’. But it’s a lot more real when you’re the one actually drafting the founding documents and policies, developing and watching and adjusting the day-to-day budget, learning about “cost of goods sold”, “operational overhead” and other terms necessary to keeping the doors open.

There’s the most important story of the renters. Who are the new friends who are sharing their talents, their cultures and their food with their neighbors? These people who have traversed a good part of the globe to call Grand Forks home. Where did they come from and how was their path started? Who are the family, some with them and some remaining elsewhere, for whom they worked so hard and endured so much? What are their unique passions that inspire them and shape their drive and dreams? And how are these remarkable people doing so far?

And there’s a story of impact. How is this project affecting life as we know it? What is the impact to the people of Grand Forks, the collective culture of the community and to others in cities around the country? What can be learned and what can be shared? How can the next journey be easier or more successful? Can economic opportunities be realized through small, managed steps? Do the hearts and minds of community members open and warm with personal interaction and with subtle new experiences?

We don’t know. We’re waiting for these stories to take shape and eager to watch them unfold.

We’re very confident in Tony and his ability to bring these stories to us. He’s obviously got a lot of talent, works hard and is a committed professional. This project will demonstrate all of this and his bright future. For now, there’s a teaser to the documentary. It points us in a direction – a good one, I think – and invites us into the world of a food truck, of hopeful promise and of new friends.

Meet Tony:

In the end, we have the highest of hopes this story of New Flavors will not only inspire others to engage in community building and in tactical urbanism but will prove great ideas come true with great teams, great effort and great determination. Or, the documentary will showcase a ‘just missed’ scenario and the value will be in other lessons learned.

In any case, there is a story to tell. And telling our story is important.

This process of building a truck, building a team, building a company, building a sustaining foundation has been going on for so long, it is a bit difficult to stop and recognize the moment that just happened.

This past weekend, New Flavors hosted Elias Dean at the Grand Forks Art on the Red event.

It was exactly the type of event we imagined rolling the truck, our new friends and new flavors and cultures into. An annual show, the Art on the Red (the name changed this year as the Public Arts Commission took over coordination) is the mark of Summer’s beginning.

Always a week or so after school lets out, it is a weekend with dozens of artists showcasing their work from around the nation in the city’s Town Square and Greenway. It is quality product with the personal touch of being able to chat with the producer. And the event includes music and other entertainment and … mobile food vendors.

Children with sticky purple fingers from grape ices and yellow mustaches from hand rolled corn dogs. Families with strollers, couples holding hands while arguing over which piece “works with” the living room set and a bright blue sky to frame the sea of tents and people. Americana. Norman Rockwell.

And in the middle of it all, a big yellow truck with a team of some of Grand Forks’ newest residents from Somalia cooking up a storm, reaching out to say “try me”, my culture, my food, me.

This was the big launch after a few successful test runs. And it exceeded expectations by all accounts. It was a lot of work, we’ll be clear about that. I hope it gets easier as we go along, but that’s for another post. What I will say is just how amazing my wife, Jessica, has been and was this weekend, specifically, as my strongest teammate. From troubleshooting logistics to great ideas and art on menu boards to the unselfish contribution of her time and acceptance of my time away, she’s amazing.

Our renter was Elias Dean and he has run a Somali restaurant in Grand Forks for about nine months. He has a strong following with the local Somali population but only a small, albeit fiercely loyal, non-Somali crowd. Elias and New Flavors share the goal to change that. He was our first trial renter due to his familiarity with the business side. We plan to provide a venue for those without an existing place so we can help them get into the food industry, but it made sense to start with a bit of an existing foundation.

Of course, what really helped was the food was fantastic. Elias is an excellent cook, as much or more so he is an entrepreneur and hard worker. (I do have to give a shout to Rafael as a total workhorse and a fun guy to be around – if you weren’t taking his pic!)

Elias was up at 3am Saturday prepping the salad and samosa. The chicken had already been marinating for two days. That is the norm, he says of Somali chicken. Two days bathing in marinade. He carefully constructed the 700 pieces of samosa by hand the night before and blended the special green sauce just before serving. He cares a lot about the quality of his food and works extremely hard to maintain his reputation for quality.

We have a motto for New Flavors: New Flavors, new friends. (It is SO much better than the unwieldy and awkward one I constructed with “food as social connector and economic opportunity”. Fit that on a bumper sticker! But we have an unwritten – until now – sub- motto: “NEW flavors, not BAD flavors.” We felt asking folks to experiment with new food and culture, particularly from a truck, was risky enough. We need to convey the truck is operated professionally and the food is well-prepared. That’s why our board made a menu discussion and tasting required before each event.

There was no problem with Elias’ food and his preparation, or his cleaning if the truck post-event. It is a high bar we will be setting for all our renters and working with them to meet.

The truck was active for 8 hours Saturday and another 6 Sunday. It was nestled next to a local favorite, Ground Round (for disclosure, Matt, the owner, is on our board) and across the way from a regional rib favorite. There was also lemonade stands and cheese curds and lots of corn dogs. Interestingly, there were also a few other interesting options including some delicious Thai.

In addition to the menu board, we included some background information on Elias, on Knight, Knight Cities Challenge and New Flavors and also on Somalia and Somali refugees.

At the Knight Cities Challenge convening last year, there were several golden takeaways. One of them came from a conversation with another winner who suggested to make sure we use every event to deliver not just a meal but a rich experience.

There were at least a few folks I noticed spending time to read parts of it. Strategically, we did post it on the opposite side of the menu board near he serving window. While waiting for your delicious, fresh made curry chicken wrap, Somali Chicken and rice plate or samosas, this content awaited you. Unfortunately, darn Elias had his game on in the back of the truck so wait time was limited. (I couldn’t convince him to slow down the preparation, of course.)

But those who read parts of it seemed genuinely interested in the background. One of the artists at the event stood for nearly ten minutes to take it all in. Yes, it really was that long. She left with a full plate of chicken, rice, salad and samosa. And a bit more, I believe.

Standing near the truck, it was common to hear passerbys exclaim to friends and family on the phone or shouted down the street – that happens quite a lot at these events – “they have Somali food!” Why, yes. Grand Forks does have Somali food. “What is it?”, someone would yell back and the attempt at an explanation would invariably conclude with a motion to join them in front of the menu board and serving window to see for themselves.

One of the comments Sunday morning that really struck me was they were hearing people talk about the food and specifically hearing the word “samosa” in conversations throughout the day. It kept catching the ears of this person like a growing wave or, as I thought, what a trending hashtag looks like in public life. The point was, it was a very small but tangible adoption of something new in our daily life. It wasn’t a campaign or rallying cry, a forced position or an argument. It was simply a casual usage of a previously unknown word in a familiar fashion. Familiar.

Elias is not just a renter but he’s been an advisor and mentor on the business side of running this New Flavors operation.

Our goal has always been twofold – provide economic opportunity to our new neighbors and friends and introduce new people and cultures into the Grand Forks community in a low-risk, common way.

Elias already owns and operates an amazing business, Steers Somali Cuisine, that is loaded with fantastic food so there’s nothing we can teach him about running a business.

However, he wants to reach out into new customers, new corners of our community. That’s where we can help!

Elias was born in the war torn Mogadishu in the early 90s and moved with his parents to Kenya.when then moved to Asia and made a move back to Africa .

He learned cooking while he was young at home as his parents used to be away most of the day. It was at this time he first thought he might want to have a restaurant of his own and hoped one day it would be his dream job.

His first born daughter, Olivia, will be seven this summer and he hopes she will join him and her ‘mum’ soon. (They remain out of country, awaiting the chance to reunite)

While he waits, he works. He works a lot.

One next goal is to bring his fare right to the middle of the downtown Grand Forks night scene, introducing his delicious somosas (sambusas) to college students and hook them on his fare.

We think he’s got a solid plan.

Not only is the food delicious, but we at New Flavors know our college students will appreciate the diversity, the ‘hipness’ of Somali food from a food truck and, as a result, will help form a better connection with the community. Win-win-win.

With all these outreaches and engagements, we think Elias will expand his customer base in a huge way. He is a friendly, professional and incredibly generous person and a smart business man.

As he says, “I never thought I would own a restaurant in grand forks and I had nothing when I moved up here in 2012”.

Please take the time to visit Steers Somali Restaurant at 2915 S. Washington St. You’ll thank us.

It’s been quite a process and through these postings, I’m going to fill you in on the whole thing.

Let it suffice to say there is an equal mix of anxiety and relief before the big day tomorrow.

In the last few months we’ve – and I’ll detail the many, many faces of “we” in the future – made so much progress.

The big part of what we do is the big yellow truck. It is already bit of an icon and a lot of fun to roll through these North Dakota streets to waves and smiles and raised eyebrows. The big yellow truck. That’s how it’s known now. But the real identity will continually develop.

Many people know the mission of the truck – to help open economic doors to our emerging populations and providing opportunities for different people to safely “collide” through food and community events.

Many people are familiar with Knight Foundation, their longstanding support of Grand Forks and the other 25 communities. They might even be familiar with the Knight Cities Challenge, the program that provided the funding, the platform, the technical advice and the incredible support to embrace a crazy idea to build community and help nurture it to fruition.

There are stories of paperwork – sexy, right? There are stories of policy development – yup, more sexy. There are stories of budgeting and more budgeting. These are all necessary stories and the ones I did not quite anticipate.

And there are stories of people. The people who jumped on this ship right away from Kristi at the Community Foundation to Barry, Cynthia, Matt, Ilhaam, Noura and Molly on the board. There are stories of our doumentarian (made that up), Tony and my son, Mason making the trip to Minneapolis to get the truck.

There are stories of Kelly, Eric and Mark at Chameleon Concession patiently tolerating my ignorance, frustration and other emotions through the actual process of turning an 18 foot Chevy workhorse into a full-fledged food truck that our health inspectors said was near perfect.

There are stories of the foodies who just wanted more trucks in our town, in our life.

There are stories of a family who continues to support this bizarre effort even though it takes my time, my attention and my good humor at times. I can understand why my 7 year old is excited – it IS a BIG YELLOW FOOD TRUCK. I understand the solid support and offers to help by my teens. They’re really wonderful people. I do marvel why my wife has not only been the biggest champion, best adviser and staunchest supporter, but has done all of her own jobs and grad school at the same time. She has given the most. It’s been a lesson I will work hard to emulate.

And, most importantly, there are stories of some of our newest neighbors who have come here from so far away. Our new friends and family from Somalia, Nepal, Burundi, Liberia . . . It has been heartening to hear that efforts as small as this matter when it comes to rolling out our collective welcoming mat.

The first – next – story will be about Elias. He is a Somali entrepreneur who started up and runs Steers Somali Restaurant. In the last few months he has taught me a heck of a lot more about running an American business than I could ever relay to others. He is the first renter of this “uber for food trucks” and he is excited about bringing his food, his culture, himself, closer to the Grand Forks community.

I am in awe and humbled by the last year of events. I simply cannot wait for what comes next.

]]>http://newflavors.org/?feed=rss2&p=1390Welcome to New Flavors!http://newflavors.org/?p=1
http://newflavors.org/?p=1#respondSat, 25 Jun 2016 14:59:13 +0000http://newflavors.org/?p=1Welcome to New Flavors Food Truck! This site, like the full project to bring New Flavors to the Grand Forks, ND area through New American food and culture, will be up and running soon. Check back for progress.
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